Tools



c. w. woobs ET AL 2,891,631

June 23, 1959 TOOLS Filed. Jan. 29, -19s7 INVENTORS C'Hfikl E5 14/- 14 0005 4 N mm MM H R. m m/% MM United States Patent TOOLS Charles W. Woods, Langhorne Manor, Pa., and Arthur R.

Harmon, Port Republic, N.J., assignors to Philco Corporation, Philadelphia, 'Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvama Application January 29, 1957, Serial No. 636,892

7 Claims. (Cl. 203-125) This invention is concerned with tooling for the fabrication of circuit panels and the like. It relates particularly to a wire feeder, constituting an improvement over the Wire Feeding Apparatus shown and described by John G. Lord in the copending application Serial No. 576,434, now Patent No. 2,823,792, filed on April 5, 1956, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

The present device, like that of said Lord application, serves to feed wire automatically and to avoid interruption of such feeding even in case of discontinuity of the wire.

It is an object of this improvement to provide a device which continues to feed wire even in the case of discontinuities occurring in rapid succession, or in diiferent supply zones. A related object is to provide a reversible device of the present type, which can readily switch the feeding of wire from one supply zone to another and then back to the first; not only from a first to a second feeding zone as'in the Lord apparatus.

It is another object of this improvement to provide more compact means for these purposes, in spite of the more complex functioning that resides in the reversible, automatic shift of wire feeding operations. Compactness of such tooling is desirable not only for the ordinary reasons of economy and expediency but also for the particular reason that wire elements, in conjunction with other components, must frequently be installed on very small panels, in close proximity to one another. While the present tool, as mentioned, performs a complex program of automatic functions, it is nevertheless more compact than the prior tools of the same type, other things being equal.

Another specific object is to minimize the number as well as the mass of moving parts in a device as indicated, in order to make operation, reversal, reloading and maintenance of the device as safe, rapid, simple and economical as possible.

These and other objects, as indicated hereinafter, have been achieved by a redesign and rearrangement of elements, basically known from said Lord application. The new design can best be explained in connection with the drawing appended hereto, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of apparatus embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a front view of the principal part of the apparatus of Figure 1, on a larger scale, in one position thereof; Figure 3 is a rear view of certain parts of the apparatus of Figure 2, in said position; Figure 4 is a vertical section through the detail of Figure 3, taken along line 44 of that figure; and

Figures 5 and 6 are, respectively, front and rear views of said detail parts in another position thereof.

In Figure 1 the wire feeder 10 is shown as being mounted on a ram guide 11 forming part of a machine for panel fabrication, component insertion and the like; other parts of this machine being shown only in a general and fragmentary way since they, as such, form no part of the present invention. For instance it is generally and schematically indicated that a discharge duct 12 leads from the wire feeder 10, in order to guide a wire from that feeder into a cutting and inserting tool 13. That tool, shown in outline only, may be adapted to sever successive wire portions from the wire and to insert them in electrical circuit panels 14; and said panels may be transferred into the vicinity of the tool 13 by a suitable transfer apparatus, not shown. Power for the operation of the wire feeder 10, tool 13, etc. may be furnished for instance by a ram 15, vertically moving in said ram guide 11. The wire, to be dispensed by the feeder 10, may be unrolled from one or the other of a pair of reels 16 and 17, rotatably mounted on a holder structure 18 secured to the ram guide 11. The feeder tool 10 may be mounted on the same ram guide by clamping means 19.

As indicated in Figure 2, the tool comprises a long, vertical slider 20, vertically reciprocable in an even longer, stationary base 21. An upper guide element 22 of the slider 20 may be guided by an upper, relatively narrow slot 23 in said base, Whereas a lower guide element 24 of the slider 20 is guided in a lower, relatively wide slot 25 in said base. v

According to the present invention the movable guide member 24 has mounted thereon the principal parts of the apparatus unit for selectively feeding a predetermined one of a pair of wires. It has also mounted thereon the complete unit for sensing a discontinuity in said predetermined wire and for transferring or retransferring the feeding effort. These units form a small and compact linkage, as illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4. They comprise a pair of sensing links 26, 27 cooperating with a shifting link 28, as best shown in Figure 3. Each sensing link has the form of a plate, adapted to slidingly rock on a smooth rear surface 29 of the guide or plate member 24. The sensing links 26, 27 are approximately quadrant-shaped, with rounded corners. They have sensing fingers 30, 31, both shown as extending forwardly from upper inner corners of the respective quadrants, through a single horizontal slot 32 in the guide or plate member 24; also see Figure 4. In front of the device as shown in Figure 5, the guide member 24 has a pair of vertical, forwardly open, wire guiding slots 33, 34, formed by and between several forwardly projecting parts which are integral or rigid with said member 24. These forwardly projecting parts, as shown, include upper and lower, vertical ridge members 35, 36 forming slender, central parts integral with the front of the plate 24. In addition there is provided a pair of approximately square plate or projection members 37, 38, forwardly extending from guide plate 24; these members are separated from the ridges 35, 36, by the vertical slots 33, 34 and they have the horizontal slot 32 extending into their sides facing one another. The outer edges of these members 37, 38, may also provide two of the guiding surfaces 39 (Figure 6) whereby the guide and plate member 24 engages the edges of the slot 25. When formed as separate plates these members may be secured to the more basic plate or member 24 by screws 40 (Figure 5 The horizontal slot 32, which extends into these members 37, 38, and is interposed between the vertical 35, 36, forms an expanded portion or recess in each vertical wire guiding slot 33, 34. A wire 41 normally extends from the supply reel 16 (Figure 1) into and through the first vertical slot 33 (Figure 2), while a second wire 42 similarly extends from the second reel 17 into and through the second vertical slot. In the area of the horizontal slot or recess 32, these wires extend around the sensing fingers 30, 31, respectively; the normal arrangement being such that both sensing fingers are aligned with the corresponding vertical slots so that the wires 41, 42 are not much deflected from straight vertical positions by the fingers 30, 31.

As shown in Figure 3 this arrangement corresponds with uniform, raised, angular orientations of the sensing, quadrant-shaped links 26, 27, carrying the fingers 39 and 31; but both of these links 26, 27 are urged or biased by springs 43, 44, to turn downwardly and outwardly and thereby to move their sensing fingers 31, 32 outwardly. Both sensing fingers and links are normally restrained against the biasing spring force, but only by frictional forces and by the wires 41, 42, held in the slots 33, 34.

The first sensing link 26 has a lower edge 45 which in Figure 3 is out of contact with the shifting link 28, whereas the second sensing link 27 has a lower edge 46 in contact with the top edge 48 of the shifting link. This latter link is substantially free to assume either the position of Figures 2, 3, lowering one lateral half of it, adjacent the first sensing link 26, or the position of Figures 5, 6, lowering the other lateral half, adjacent the second sensing link 27; and the two lateral halves of the shifting link 28 carry, respectively, feedshifting pins 49, 50, forwardly projecting through vertical slots 51, 52 in the guide member 24 (Figure 5). Therefore, upon an outward movement of sensing finger 31, allowed by a discontinuity of wire 42 in slot 34, spring 44 tends to cause downward motion of link 27 with edge 46 and consequent reversal of the shifting link 28 from the position of Figure 3 to that of Figure 6, as hereinafter described in greater detail. This reversal in turn raises Ute pin 49 and lowers the pin 50 (Figure 5), reversing the original positions of these pins (Figure 2). In either position of the mechanism, shifting link 28 and pins 49, 50 may be yieldably secured against vibratory disurbance and the like by slight spring forces supplied by detent means 53 (Figure 6).

As the sensing link 26 or 27, turning on its pivot 54 or 55 (Figure 6), turns the shifting link 28 on its pivot 56, the pin 49 or 50 (Figure 2) causes a wire clutch member 57 or 58 to assume or lose selectively wire-engaging position. These clutch members, respectively, are pivoted at 59 and 60 and are biased, for instance by spring means 61, 62, into such positions that they respectively, in cooperation with ridge 36, engage wire 41 or 42 on each and any down stroke of the slider 20. Each wire clutch member may simply be formed as a fiat, oval-shaped jaw member, pivoted at the wide end thereof, pointing toward said ridge with the pointed end, and suitably engaged by the biasing spring. Similar clutch units are also provided on the frame 21 adjacent and above the slot 25 as shown at 63, 64, and still others adjacent and below this slot as shown at 65, 66.

The operation of the device is believed to require only little further explanation. It can be summarized as follows:

Initially the ends of wires 41 and 42 are manually unrolled from their respective reels 16, 17 and inserted into the feeder device wherein they, respectively, are threaded through the upper wire clutches 63, 64, then through the wire channels or slots 33, 34 on the guiding member 24, next through the wire clutching and feed shifting members 57, 58, and finally through the lower clutches 65, 66 and the discharge duct 12; the free ends of the two wires being longitudinally spaced from one another, in said duct, by the predetermined length of a stroke of the slider 20. Assuming that wire 42 shall initially be fed to the cutting and inserting tool 13, the position of elements W, 50, etc., as shown in Figure 2, is manually established.

Automatic operation can then be started by suitable means, not shown, causing the ram to move up and down in the guide 11. By suitable motion transfer linkage, not shown, the ram lowers and raises the slider m the base 21 by predetermined distances, during 4 each insertion stroke and return stroke of the feeder. Assuming that the slider 20, incident to an insertion stroke, is moving downwardly into and through the position of Figure 2, it will be noted that the feed clutch member 58, unrestrained by the shifting pin 50 thereof, is urged into contact with the Wire 42 by the biasing spring 62 and that the resulting friction aids the spring force in tending to raise the clutch member, so that the wire 42 is wedged between the ridge or backing 36 and the clutch member 58; and the wire 42 accordingly moves downwardly with the slider 20. The other wire 41, by contrast, is not so engaged, the corresponding clutch member 57 being kept out of frictional contact and wedging association, by the pin 49; accordingly this other wire 41 remains stationary and the guide member 24, including the sensing finger 30 slides downwardly along this stationary wire 41. In the then ensuing upstroke both wires .41, 42 are stationary, the clutch 57 being inoperative and the clutch 58 being unable during this upstroke to cause Wedging engagement of the wire.

Any tendency to displace wire 41 downwardly ,or either wire upwardly, for instance by frictional engagement with guide member 24, is prevented by the lower clutch units 65, 66 and the upper clutch units 63, 64, respectively; all clutch units being constructed and arranged to allow only positive, downward movement of the wires.

Assuming now that the wire 42, downwardly moving through the feeding apparatus, comes to an end, and particularly that an end of the wire passes the sensing finger 31 (Figure 5), this removes the aforementioned holding of this finger by the wire, there-by making it relatively easy for the spring .44 to turn the quadrant or sensing link 27 downwardly and outwardly (see Figures 3, 6). For the moment, the feeding clutch 58 associated with this quadrant remains engaged so long as the feed stroke continues, because of the wedging action between the parts 58, 41 and 36, which has been described above; the leverage moment of the frictional force acting between parts 58 and .41 easily overcomes the moment of the force applied by the spring 44 to the quadrant 27. This applies particularly if, as shown in Figure 3, the moment arm of this spring, about the pivot of the link 27, is made very small, in the normal position of the device. However, as soon as the next return stroke begins, the said wedging action comes to an end; and thereupon the spring 44 (unopposed by the other spring 43) readily turns the quadrant 27 and thereby the shifting link 28. This, in turn, causes reversal of the clutch pins 49, 5t and clutch members 57, 58 during an early phase of the return stroke. As a result the feeder engages the other wire 41 as soon as the next feed stroke starts, and without missing such a stroke. If and as the front ends of the wires were originally spaced by one stroke length, the insertion continues without interruption.

During the normal feeding of wire 41, which ensues, a wire 42 can easily be inserted in the feeder without interruption of the regular upstrokes and downstrokes. It is only necessary for this purpose to hold link 27 against the small force of spring 4.4 (Figure 6), for instance by inserting a small wedge or the like between the surfaces 46, 48, and then to manually feed the new wire 42 downwardly through clutch 64, slot 34, feed clutch 58, end clutch 60 and into tube 12, and then to remove said small wedge .or similar device. All this can be done in a few seconds, and the machine is then ready to shift the feeding :back to wire 42, when necessary, again without missing a single feed stroke.

As the machine automatically transfers the feeding effort from one wire clutch 57 ,to the other 58 and back to the first, 57, whenever such transfers are required, suitable wire feeding strokes can continue indefinitely, without interruption of .a steady stream of panels 14, properly treated by wire insertion. It is necessary only to occasionally reinsert new wire material on e her si at" the vi as. desc ibed ab ve. hil t e feeding of wire material by the other side of the machine continues. This possibility of feeding =wire material for any desired, indefinite period, without any interruption, was not provided by prior feeders. Even the Lord machine, which automatically transferred the feed from one side to the other, did not automatically transfer it back to the first side; thus it only overcame the problem of inopportune and undesirable interruptions of the feeding process, but still required occasional, manual interruptions of that process and of the stream of panels 14 properly treated by wire insertion. Restarting of the wire feeder, at the original feeding side, became necessary upon every second arrival of a wire discontinuity. In other words, the Lord machine allowed the moment for manual restarting to be chosen by the operator; the present machine, by contrast, eliminates the need for any manual restarting and requires only manual reloading.

In spite of its complex function, the new feeding operation is performed by very simple means. In substance the quadrant-shaped links 27, 28 for the transfer of the sensing impulse may be considered as a pair of bell crank levers each having a sensing arm 31 or 32 and an impulse transferring arm 45 or 46. This latter arm directly applies mechanical forces on either arm of the clutch shifting element 28, which may be considered as being in principle an ordinary straight, centrally pivoted lever, with the clutch control members 49, 50 at the ends of the two arms thereof. The wires 41, 42 tend to hold the sensing and impulse transferring bell crank in the position of Figure 3, with both transferring arms raised against lowering forces provided by the springs 43, 44; and when either of these lowering forces becomes effective, upon the running out of the corresponding wire, Figure 5, the corresponding bell crank shifts the straight lever to the required new position, Figure 6, at the exact, proper moment, as fully explained above.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been described it should be understood that the details thereof are not to be construed as limitative of the invention except insofar as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for feeding wire from either of a pair of supply means in a supply zone to a single discharge zone, by a member reciprocable between said zones, a control unit mounted on said reciprocable member and comprising: a pair of sensing and connecting devices, each having feeler means in contact with wire, if any, from one of the supply means, and each also having connector means; a pair of one-way wire clutches; and shifting means controlled by either connector means to selectively render either clutch operative and the other inoperative.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the sensing and connecting devices are sector members mounted on said reciprocable member for swinging movement in 6 a plane parallel to the reciprocation of said reciprocable member.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said shifting means is a lever movable in the same plane in which the sector members move.

4. In wire feeding apparatus, a supply structure adapted to supply a plurality of wires; transfer means, mounted to move back and forth in intermittent feed strokes with intervening return strokes, and adapted to have engagement with any one of said wires for gradual removal thereof from said supply structure by said feed strokes; and control means mounted on and movable with the transfer means and comprising a plurality of levers, one for each wire of said plurality of wires, each lever having a feeler arm, for sensing continuity and discontinuity of the respective wire, and a power arm, the control means comprising means controllable by each power arm for resetting the transfer means by shifting the engagement with the transfer means from the first-mentioned wire to a predetermined other of said wires upon the sensing of a discontinuity in the first-mentioned wire.

5. In wire feeding apparatus, a structure for supplying a plurality of wires; transfer means adapted to perform intermittent feed strokes gradually removing any one of said Wires from said structure, and to perform intervening return strokes; and a control structure movable on and with said transfer means and comprising: feeler means for sensing discontinuity of any wire being re moved, power means controlled by the feeler means, and linkage controlled by the power means for shifting the gradual removing of wire from said structure to another wire supplied by said structure.

6. In wire feeding apparatus, supply means for a pair of wires; discharge means for one wire; a feeder member reciprocable between said supply and discharge means; a pair of wire clutches on said feeder member, each of said clutches comprising a movable jaw member and rigid backing means for wedging one of the wires between the jaw member and the backing means when the feeder member moves in one direction and for releasing the wire when the member moves in the opposite direction; reversible control means mounted on said feeder member for rendering either of the wire clutches on the feeder member operative and the other inoperative; and means mounted on said feeder member and controlled by the wire engaged by the operative clutch for reversing the control means.

7. Apparatus as described in claim 6 wherein each movable jaw member is an oval shaped plate pivoted at the wide end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 639,815 King Dec. 26, 1899 1,293,493 McMurphy Feb. 4, 1919 1,939,746 Whitman Dec. 19, 1933 

